Destined by Icion
by Jeisre Ice
Summary: Icion Saga begin... On the outskirts of the Galaxy lies the lonely Planet Icion, where Frieza heads to visit his imprisoned mother Icia. But upon his arrival he finds Icia slayed by the mysterious assassins.  The only person who survived the massacre is
1. Destined by Icion: Part 1

Planet Icion: My Fics: Destined by Icion Part 1

Foreword: This story takes place in the Alternative Universe one year before the original Saiyan Saga begins. Please be warned that this story contains language that may offend some people (rated PG-13).

Destined by Icion  
By Jeisre Ice

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Part 1: Death is Only the Beginning...

Again he stared at the white terrain of Planet Icion. Snow and ice... nothing else. Just the heavenly whiteness that blinded the eyes. Yet he knew that despite its deceiving beauty this planet was a prison. How long has it been? Twenty, thirty years? Frieza lost the count, or rather, he didn't want to count the years of his mother's imprisonment. It tore his heart apart to see the war in his family. He didn't give a damn about his older brother, but the mutual hatred of his parents deeply wounded his heart. And to think, he used to adore his father, and, even, managed to peacefully co-exist with Koola. They used to be a family, a real family. He used to know what love was...

But that was long ago. Much longer than Frieza could clearly remember. He was still young when Icia lost King Cold's favor and was banished, exiled, imprisoned on this tiny planet in the far corner of the Galaxy. Icia, the Accursed Queen, hated by her husband, despised by her older son... Only Frieza remained the loyal offspring, perhaps, because with Icia gone, King Cold and Koola shifted their attention to the youngest member of the family, who became the new scapegoat. More and more Frieza distanced from his father. And as for Koola... They hated each other since the day they've learned they were brothers. No loss there, rather a relief... 

Frieza learned to conceal his emotions, keep them cooped inside. He grew up an icy tyrant, just like his father wanted. But having all these feelings, all the undivided love and craving for affection, tore Frieza's soul inside. And so shifted all those positive emotions to the only person who still cared for him, his mother. As years passed, and his father's coldness only deepened, Frieza's love to his mother turned into an obsession. Icia was his world, the only light in his dark, cold existence. That's why, even under the penalty of death, Frieza broke his father's orders and continued to visit his mother whenever he could.

So he was this time.

The doors to his quarters opened. Zarbon entered and bowed,

"We are arriving in ten minutes, Lord Frieza," the green-haired man reported.

"Very well, Zarbon. You may go now."

The right-hand henchman bowed again and exited.

Frieza had one more thing to do before they landed. He didn't want his mother to see him as the reminder of his father. His 1st, 2nd and 3rd forms all carried undoubtful resemblance to King Cold, and only his 4th, his true form, was entirely inherited from his mother. Down to skin color.

Frieza sighed and began his transformation. It used to take him a reasonable amount of time to go through this process. But recently he learned a handy technique called warp-transforming. Now he could transform to any form from any stage, whether it was 3rd to 1st, or 1st to 4th. And it only took around a minute maximum, and if he could concentrate well the process only took 10 seconds.

This time it took him a bit too long. Something was bothering him. He couldn't really tell what. It was a six sense, pounding in the back of his head, making him feel uneasy...

"Sir!" Zarbon appeared in the doorway again, "You better come to the control room, we might have a problem."

Frieza walked along the corridor, Zarbon followed him.

"So what is that problem that you might be having?" Frieza demanded.

"We have been trying to contact the space port on Icion, and we can't reach them. They don't respond to any identification calls we make..."

Something in the back of Frieza's head pounded like a mallet. He walked faster.

The control room was filled with the regular staff. Dodoria was standing in the middle of the room, obviously supervising. The main entrance door opened.

"Master Frieza," Dodoria greeted his Lord with a bow.

"What's our landing status?" Frieza demanded immediately.

"We still don't get any response..." Dodoria began.

Frieza abruptly interrupted him,

"Land!"

"But, sir..." Dodoria spoke again, "What about the proper landing procedures? We can't land without a permission..."

"Shove those procedures up your ass!" Frieza snarled, loosing his patience, "I said, LAND! NOW!!!"

The ship began to descend. When the two main turbines were already shut off, the ship suddenly vibrated and swayed. A distinct roar from the outside identified another ship, passing at a high speed.

"What the hell was that?!" Frieza shouted, addressing the aliens at the control panel.

"A ship, sir!" one of the aliens spoke, "It was going practically at the speed of light, thus making it impossible for us to identify it. We didn't even get a clear shape..."

Frieza's ki-blast vaporized the soldier on the spot. The rest could only watch and tremble in horror.

"Well, next time make sure you get SOMETHING!!!" the tyrant hissed, "Now what are you waiting for?! Land! Or should I vaporize all of you and land the ship myself?!"

The soldiers gulped and hastily proceeded to fulfill the order.

The freezing terrain of Icion approached. First the distant mountains, frozen in the millenium old glaciers. Then the vast plains, iced to the core. Yet the landing site remained hidden. It was veiled by the shroud of greyish fog.

"Move it, move it, for Kami's sake!!!" Frieza urged his men. Now he was sure that something was wrong. That feeling took over his mind completely.

_There are no fogs on Icion! he said to himself, __And even if there were, why would it be hanging only over mother's palace?... HOLY STARS!!! That's no fog... it's smoke!!!_

_ To prove his realization the grey haze cleared to revealed the only inhabited place on the whole planet. Or rather, what was an inhabited place. It was now gone. The landing field wiped out without trace, the palace laying in ruins and fires raging everywhere. All destroyed..._

"SHIT!!!" Frieza swore and turned to his henchmen, "Zarbon, Dodoria, we're moving out right now! The rest of you land the ship, then spread out and search the area! Anyone you find alive, keep them that way! Let's go!"

The three figures flew out of the main hatchway and headed towards the ruins of the palace.

"Zarbon, search the west wing! Dodoria, you take the east wing! I'll cover the central area. Spread out!"

They headed in different directions. Soon Frieza landed by the main entrance to the palace. Now it barely looked like a palace, or any other construction. Rather it was a pile of stone and concrete, with the remains of the walls scattered here and there. 

Frieza ran. Past the lounge, along the corridor, to what was once a throne room. He had no idea why he was going there, why he wasn't starting with another place. He was guided by the same feeling that previously stirred the sense of trouble within his mind.

"Mama! Mama!" he called, "Where are you? It's me, Frieza."

Only the humming of the fire replied him. He increased his pace. A moment later he entered the throne room. It was far less damaged than the rest of the palace. Whoever was responsible for this destruction, has accidentally (or purposely?) spared the throne room. And Frieza soon found out why.

On the steps before the throne, bleeding, lay Icia. Her chest was pierced right at the spot where the main artery connects to the heart; the Achilles heel of the Ice-jin, the only place where a wound becomes mortal. Frieza uttered a scream and dashed to his mother. Icia was still alive.

"Mama! Mama..." tears streamed down from Frieza's eyes, "Oh, GOD!!! Hold on, Mama, you'll be alright..."

He attempted to lift her up. Icia's eyelids moved. She gave Frieza a gaze full of agony.

"Frieza, my boy..." the Accursed Queen wheezed, "You came... But too late, I'm afraid..."

"No!!!" he howled, "It's not too late, if I can only get you to the ship..."

"Frieza, listen to me... I don't have much time... Promise me, you will do as I ask..."

"Anything, mama! Anything!!!"

"Don't try to avenge my death, for you can't face them, not yet! Find the girl... she must stay alive... at any cost... Promise me, Frieza, promise that you will take care of her... That you will keep my little girl away from harm..."

"Your little girl??? What?!" Frieza's eyes widened, "I have... a sister?!?!"

Icia shuddered in pain, but nevertheless continued,

"She is not your sister by blood, but she is like a daughter to me... I took her in twenty years ago... She was my only joy these last years of imprisonment... Swear to me, that you will let no harm come her way... On my death, swear to me, my son..."

Frieza's lips trembled.

"I swear!"

A weak smile came over Icia's lips,

"I die content... Find Driar..."

"Driar?"

"That is her name... she is... a Saiyan..."

"A SAIYAN?!?!" a gasp of non-belief and with a definite flavor of hatred escaped Frieza's lips.

Icia put her hand on her son's cheek.

"Direct your hatred not on her! You promised, and I know you never break your word... Goodbye, my son... I will always be with you and love you...through her..."

The last breath parted from the lips of the last woman of the Icejin race. Her eyes closed and her hand lifelessly fell down. For a moment Frieza stared at his mother's body. He refused to believe it. Trembling, he lightly shook her.

"Mama... Mama! MAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

As the sensation of the irremediable loss finally struck him, he emitted a blood-freezing screech.

"AERA-A-A-A-A-A-A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Frieza wailed in his native tongue, clinging to his mother's lifeless body. The tears were suffocating him. And the cold-blooded creature cried, shedding hot, bitter tears that only those with warm blood could shed. The light was darkened, his life became empty, there was no meaning to it anymore. Frieza fell on his mother's chest and wept.

He wasn't sure how much time he had been laying there. But suddenly a high pitched scream brought him back to reality. Frieza lifted his head. The scream was cut short.

_The assassins! They're still here! a thought flashed in his mind._

Frieza darted off. He clearly established the location of the sound. It was coming from the side of the east wing of the palace. Soon he established the source too. A bulk of smoking pink flesh covered with spikes lay before him. Frieza recognized his henchman.

"Dodoria?" he spoke, but this time his voice contained no emotion, only cold indifference.

The henchman was dead. Frieza was about to approach him to find out the cause of his demise, when a quiet sound jerked his attention to the remains of the nearest wall. Frieza clearly felt someone's presence. Preparing for battle, he pumped his power level.

"Come out! I know you're there!" he demanded.

A shadow appeared behind the ruins. The next moment a silhouette shaped out of the darkness.

"I am here!" the voice sounded.

Frieza gaped. It was the voice of his mother... No, not quite... This voice was a bit higher pitched and less hissing, yet it was undoubtedly the voice of an Ice-jin. Frieza ran his gaze over the silhouette. It was almost completely concealed by shadows. The red light of the fire only revealed the end of the tail. White, lizard-like tail, identical to his own. And the eyes... Glowing, ruby eyes... A feeling was as if he was staring into a shaded mirror. The creature carried a frightening resemblance to himself.

"Who are you?" Frieza spoke. He felt bitter dryness in his mouth.

"What do you want with my name, Lord Frieza? It is enough that you have seen me," a cold reply followed.

"I thought it would be useful to learn the name of my mother's murderer!" Frieza growled, "But if you prefer to die nameless, then so be it!!!"

The creature gave a short laugh. Then something sparked in the air. Frieza's reaction was swift. He caught the object thrown at him. As he opened his hand, he found a scouter in his open palm.

"Take a reading of my power level," the shadowy character spoke, "That should be a far more useful information than my name."

Frieza did. As the numbers flickered on the display, cold sweat rolled down his back.

"F-f-f-f... f-forty m-million!!!!!!!!!!!" Frieza gasped, "That's... IMPOSSIBLE!!!"

Frieza's hand trembled as he pressed the re-confirm button again and again.

"Keep the scouter, in case you want to check if it's crooked," the creature said, "I have no wish to take your life, Frieza. But if you are foolish enough to attack, your fate will be the same as that of your soldier."

That comment was obviously on Dodoria's account. 

"What difference does it make now?!" Frieza tore the scouter from his ear, "My mother is dead by your hand! If I die, I die avenging her!"

"You will die foolishly and in vain. I was not the one who killed Icia..."

"Why should I believe you?!"

The creature seemed to have moved forward.

"Because, I am a female of your own kind, Frieza. And you should know too well, that an Ice-jin woman cannot lie."

Frieza gaped for the n-th time today.

"Who... are... you?" he whispered.

She did not answer, but made one step forward. Her face was now only partly shadowed. Frieza gazed at her. He could tell that she was young, very young for an Ice-jin. Yet her face was almost identical to his own, or rather... The thought made Frieza break into cold sweat. She was almost an exact copy of Icia, only much younger. His mother must have looked like that about 150 years ago.

Unable to take his gaze of the woman, Frieza continued to stare at her. Finally, he overpowered whatever was going on in his soul.

"If it wasn't you, then who did it?" he asked, "Who killed my mother?"

She stepped back into the shadow.

"You already know the answer, Frieza. You knew it when you first saw the ruins of the palace. That thought has haunted you for many years now, and now that it has become reality, you try to deny it? I hold no answers... I must leave you now, there is nothing I can do anymore... Farewell, Lord Frieza."

She began to fade into the darkness.

"No, wait!!!" Frieza reached his hand after her, "Tell me, who did it! I want to know... for sure..."

The mysterious Ice-jin sighed.

"Seek the one whose name holds sorrow, the one, in whose veins the blood of two races flow, and then you will get your answers..."

"Who are you?! I ask of you your name!" Frieza gave it one more desperate shot. He spoke in his native tongue. The tradition of the Icejin race obliged to answer any question if it was spoken in the Icejin language.

It appeared that she knew that too well.

"I'm afraid the only name I can leave you with is Rime..." she replied in Icejin, "Hai-re, Frieza! Hai-re!"

"Hai-re..." Frieza whispered the Icejin formal farewell.

She faded, merged with the shadow, disappeared into thin air. And Frieza still stood there, staring at the spot where the mysterious female was just a moment ago. Catatonically, his fingers were drumming on the side of the scouter. Suddenly the eye piece beeped, alerting Frieza of a new power reading.

"Twenty thousand?" Frieza muttered, "That can't be any of my men. None of them are this strong, except for Zarbon..."

Frieza moved towards the source of power. He went past several demolished halls, and entered the very last room in the east wing. Immediately he noticed a crouching shadow in the far corner. Frieza checked the scouter again. The reading confirmed his guess.

"Come out now!" he ordered.

The person in the corner realized that hiding was in vain now. The next moment Frieza barely managed to dodge a hard kick. He rolled aside and assumed a battle pose. A short woman landed at where he was standing a moment ago. She was young, and reasonably attractive (_Maybe even a bit too much so, Frieza noticed to himself, but immediately banished the thought). Her hair was pitch black and so were her eyes. Frieza ran his gaze over her: she seemed about the same height as he was and of a similar built, excluding of course their gender differences. Her eyes were glowing with hostile flames. But her racial belonging was clear: the only feature that Frieza couldn't spot was a tail._

He straightened up and smirked. That's when the woman could finally get a good look at her opponent. Her eyes widened.

"Frieza?!" her voice was soft, and pleasant sounding.

He nodded reluctantly.

"And I presume you're Driar," he spoke coolly. No matter what his mother said, he still couldn't overcome his passionate hatred towards the Saiyans.

The woman broke her fighting pose.

"That's what Icia called me. But my real name is Deirdre..."

"Whatever!" Frieza made an indifferent grimace, "Now what the heck happened here?!"

Deirdre shrugged.

"I'm not too sure... They landed so suddenly, and in about a few minutes nearly destroyed the whole area. All I remember was a hit on the head out of nowhere. I don't know why they didn't finish me off, perhaps, they thought that I was already dead..."

"Enough! How many of them were there?"

"A lot... I can't say for sure... But there were two huge power levels among them, they put me out of commission before I could get a reading..."

"Hmpf! How typical! You Saiyans are too dumb to know what hit you, literally!"

Her eyes widened in surprise, then she frowned.

"Now I see what Icia meant, when she said that all your virtues are crossed out by your ignorance and self-centrism!"

This time Frieza's eyes widened.

"Mother... said that?"

"You think I made it up?" she smirked in reply.

Frieza was stunned, but more by the arrogance of the little Saiyan brat.

"How dare you speak to me like that?!" he growled.

"That's how I speak to everyone. That's how I spoke to Icia. Why do you think I should speak any differently to you?"

"Why you little rat?! I'll teach you some respect!!!" he plunged at her. The blow he landed on her face made Deirdre fly back through the wall. Perhaps, he overdid it a bit. She was jolted too far. Frieza started after her. As he flew over the ruins, something snapped in his head.

_Frieza, you promised... that was his mother's voice._

_But she's a SAIYAN, mama! And too arrogant of a Saiyan as well! Frieza battled his will._

_You promised..._

_ But I can't..._

_ Promised..._

_ He gave up. There wasn't another power in the Universe that could defeat him so fast and so swift as his mother. Hell and Flames with it!!! Even if it was Koola she told him to take in, he would have done it! Besides, he could always 'work' on the "arrogant little monkey" and reform her feisty attitude._

Deirdre was nowhere in sight. Frieza was starting to worry that he accidentally hit her too hard... The thought made him shudder.

Meanwhile he reached the throne room. And there she was, kneeling before Icia's body, her lips moving as she was saying something.Stunned at the view, Frieza approached.

Hai're, aeru id'sae, hai're,  
\konsiis, \tlo Aesti, \konsiis za aetuniiti...  
(Farewell, beautiful flower, farewell,  
Sleep, cold Queen, sleep for eternity...)

The words of an old Icejin lullaby echoed in the demolished hall. Frieza stopped in his tracks, disarmed by the tune that his mother used to sing to him when he was a child. A soothing melody clouded Frieza's mind with memories…

He saw a little creature laying in a crib and making sobbing noises… It was incredibly dark in the room and it seemed like the shadows extended their claws to seize the small and weak life form… That scared the newborn, making him cry louder… Cry for help… A voice came form the darkness,

"Shut it up already!!!" it was the baby's father, and Frieza knew the voice too well to be mistaken. And the little white creature continued to cry… Then it felt that some one approached his crib… The next moment calmness settled around him… Two hands, so dear to the newborn, reached for him… Warm gentle mother's hands brought peace to the baby… And the little creature drifted off to sleep, listening to the enchanted lullaby sang by his mother…

Jae'ae budi be'um pil\, no/ jae/ le/ shna/ est ii'fae/:  
Jae\ thou na unae'ae haet, jae\ \zuk ia\ unae\ sa tha\ stou...  
(Your body becomes dust, but you will not be forgotten,  
You live in our hearts, you watch us from the stars...)

As the song faded, Frieza realized that he was crying once again. But something was soothing him this time. He felt a soft, gentle warmness at around him. He became aware of the embrace, a caring, motherly embrace, as if Icia was right there, alive again. Frieza returned the embrace, feeling that the pain in his soul was subsiding. He lifted his head. A smiling face leaned over him. It was Deirdre.

At first the tyrant was shocked. He was actually embracing a SAIYAN!!! And he didn't even remember how he got there. Only one thought persistently pounded in his brain: it felt good.

_I will always be with you and love you... through her! he remembered his mother's last words. _

For a moment he hesitated, and then rested his head on the shoulder of his new comfort. The light of his life did not die, it has merely taken another form. Frieza gave in to that decision that his mind made for him.

"Frieza..."

He liked that... for some reason... the informality.

"But only between us!" he warned, frowning. It's good, but he still didn't want it to get to the stage of"familiar" in public. After all, he had a reputation of a ruthless tyrant to uphold!

Deirdre nodded.

"I'll call you Master Frieza when your men are around."

_Smart little monkey! he smirked._

"You have a good potential as a fighter, Deirdre," Frieza said, getting up, "Twenty thousand, right? Did mother train you?"

"A little. She had more important matters on her hands lately..."

Frieza gestured his hand, silencing her.

"Join my force, Deirdre. One of my right-hand henchman was just killed, his power level was the same as yours. How would you like to take his place?"

"I don't want to take anyone's place..."

"Fine! Don't take his place, just join me!"

Deirdre smiled.

"I accept your offer, Frieza."

"Offer?!?!" Frieza was stunned, "That wasn't an offer, you stupid girl, that was an order!"

She smiled again.

"In any case, I accept it."

Frieza gave a merciful nod.

"Come. There is nothing left for me here."

They flew up and headed towards Frieza's ship. About half-way Zarbon caught up with them.

"Sir, the west wing is clear," the green-haired fighter reported in his usual manner, "The walls are demolished, everyone's dead and... WHOA, MAMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Zarbon dropped his jaw as his gaze suddenly found Deirdre. His face acquired a grimace of a drooling French poodle in heat. A characteristic whistle expressed Zarbon's opinion of Deirdre.

Frieza ignored the "comment".

"Zarbon, this is Deirdre, she is my mother's ward. Deirdre, this is Zarbon, my right hand fighter."

"Hi, nice to meet you," Deirdre extended her hand to Zarbon, giving him a friendly smile.

"Likewise!!!" Zarbon flashed his eyelashes, and instead of shaking her hand, he kissed it. Deirdre grimaced, it was a bit too 'wet' for a simple respectful kiss.

"Deirdre will be joining our force," Frieza continued, "Unfortunately, Dodoria has failed us. She will now take his place. I hope you don't have any objections, Zarbon."

Zarbon shook his head as hard as he could. His face expressed clearly his thoughts on the matter.

_What are you kidding?! Substituting that fat ugly blubber bag with a gorgeous doll like her!!! This must be my lucky day!!!_

_ "I will be honored working with her, sir," Zarbon flashed his pearly whites, and turned to Deirdre, "If you don't mind me asking, what is your power level?"_

"Twenty thousand," Frieza answered for Deirdre.

_Even better!!! Zarbon's smile turned into an evil grin. He was already imagining that little fragile body arching in his hands and those stubborn lips moaning his name._

"Let's move out!" Frieza ordered, "You two will have time to converse later!"

The three of them flew to the ship.

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Icejins don't bury their deceased, they vaporize their bodies. A peculiar type of cremation.

Frieza arranged his mother a truly royal burial. He personally blew up Planet Icion. Such generosity was not usual for a member of the cold-blooded race. But it was Frieza's farewell gift to his mother, the only person he actually 'loved'.

Neither Deirdre, nor Zarbon understood what was so generous about blowing up the planet with a few corpses on it. But they didn't argue with Frieza's decision.

"Where are we going now?" Deirdre asked.

She was standing beside Frieza in his quarters. The Terror of the Galaxy gloomily gazed out the window.

Deirdre adjusted the gloves on her hands. She received a new army attire as soon as she was 'settled in'. She was now wearing a black tight suit, white boots and matching gloves. However, she refused to wear the armor, alleging to not being used to wearing one of those. She also modified her suit in her own taste, getting rid of the turtle-neck and putting a low V-neck on her top. Deirdre explained her actions saying that this type of clothes allows more mobility. Frieza only shrugged indifferently. He didn't give a damn at what she was wearing.

Besides the new clothes, Deirdre received a new room on the same deck with Frieza and Zarbon. The room used to belong to Dodoria, and since he no longer required it, Deirdre occupied it, thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting it first.

"So, where are we going, Frieza?" Deirdre repeated her question.

This time he answered.

"To planet Frieza 79. That is my main base of operation. I am now permanently in the state of war, and I won't rest until I find those responsible for my mother's death. And since whoever I'm looking for is obviously powerful, I want to have all the man power I can get. I need an elite team of fighters to back me up. You and Zarbon count in, since your power levels are the highest, but I also have another team that may come in handy. The Ginyu Force..."

Deirdre chuckled.

"What?!" Frieza snapped at her.

"Nothing," Deirdre gave a short laugh, holding her index finger at her nose (_Hmm... reminds me of something... Frieza thought), "I just heard Icia describing them... Sounded a bit too goofy for an elite team..."_

Frieza shrugged with irritation.

"Well, they are a little... too preoccupied with style... but their power is not something to be taken lightly."

She nodded reluctantly.

"I will be off. Have a good night, Frieza," Deirdre gave him a short smack on the forehead and walked off.

"UGH!!! SHOO!!!" Frieza made a disgusted expression, "Sloppy endearments!!!"

But as soon as the door closed behind Deirdre, he placed his hand on his forehead where her lips touched him.

"Ahhh... Sloppy endearments..." he murmured dreamily.

*********************************************************************

Deirdre was almost at her room, when she noticed a shadow behind her. She sharply turned around and saw Zarbon, who was casually standing by the nearest window and gazing outside. Deirdre smirked. He wasn't there a second ago. She pretended that she didn't notice him before.

"Oh, hi, Zarbon," she greeted him, "What's your excuse for staying up? Insomnia?"

He slowly turned to her, giving her a languishing look, and exaggeratedly fixed his hair.

"Hello, Deirdre," his voice was honey-sweet, salacious even, "I was just observing the enthralling view of the shooting stars... Ever seen those?"

"A few times," she responded, and approached the window to take a look as well. Zarbon was right, the sight of the cosmos was beyond comparison.

"Beautiful," she agreed. Suddenly she felt his breath on her ear. He literally pinned her to the wall, pressing his body to hers. His fingers were stroking through her hair.

"Not as beautiful as you are," he whispered in her ear.

"Zarbon, keep your distance, please!" Deirdre's voice turned icy-cold.

"Why, what's wrong, my sweet?" Zarbon laughed playfully, "Do I not turn you on? Or are you playing hard to get?"

"I'm telling you nicely: back off!" a define threat appeared in the Saiyan's voice.

"My, you are playing hard to get! But maybe you prefer acting, rather than talking... Tell me, baby, how do you like this?" Zarbon sharply pressed his lower body to her hips.

As a lightning strike her hand flashed in the air, throwing Zarbon so he hit the wall on the opposite side of the corridor. Zarbon groaned as he crashed on the floor below. Yet he recovered quickly and was up on his feet in less than a second. However, Deirdre didn't give him time to recover beyond that, she launched at him. Painful blows rained on the fortuneless Casanova, who was now having second thoughts about the effectiveness of his 'picking up' approach. As the pain intensified, Zarbon started fighting back. First, the thought that she's a woman held him back, but her merciless assault soon made him forget all 'prejudices' and he fought at full strength. Soon to his great dismay, Zarbon realized that he was loosing. Even fighting at full power, he was no match for the swift Saiyan. Her every punch and kick found the target. Astounded at the fact that he was overpowered by (A) a Saiyan and (B) a woman, Zarbon dropped his guard. The next moment he was punished for his mistake, as Deirdre's punch jolted him in the end of the corridor. He hit the back wall, but managed to get up, although he was now severely beaten.

"So, tell me, 'baby', how do you like THIS?!" Deirdre smirked, mimicking Zarbon.

"Why you... you...!!!" he growled in reply.

Deirdre smirked again.

"Why don't you transform?" she suggested,"That should give you an advantage, don't you think?"

Zarbon started.

"Oh, don't be so shy, lover boy!" Deirdre gave a short laugh, "I know that you have a second form and I know what it looks like... Don't worry, I'm sure I've seen worse!"

She giggled again, driving Zarbon furious by her arrogance. He gave an enraged shout and transformed.

"Oh, jeez..." Deirdre made a disgusted grimace, "I was wrong, it doesn't get any uglier than this!"

Zarbon roared and plunged at the Saiyan. She stood her ground watching him approach. His claws almost reached her throat, when she suddenly thrust her hand forward and shot a thin ki-beam from the point of her index finger. The purple energy hit Zarbon in the chest and smashed him into the wall. The blast was not deadly, but it was powerful enough to inflict serious damage. And that's just what it did. Zarbon was conscious, but he couldn't move. Slowly his shape changed, returning to his normal form.

Deirdre grinned and blew the smoke off her finger, folding her fingers to form a gun-like shape.Clapping behind her back suddenly alerted her. Deirdre sharply turned to see Frieza, applauding her with the same smirk that has just left her face.

"Point Lazer, isn't it?" he asked, still grinning, "Impressive! This attack is my family's trademark..."

"I was trained by Icia..."

"And very well trained from what I've just seen!" Frieza came closer, maybe even a bit too close for comfort, "I guess my assumptions about you being at twenty thousand were false. What is your true power level?"

"Well, I..."

"Never mind," Frieza interrupted before Deirdre could say anything, "I can find out for sure by... putting you through a little test."

"Test?" Deirdre lifted her brows.

"Yes, as soon as we land at Frieza 79. Goodnight now," he made it clear that the conversation was over.

"Frieza," Deirdre called, "What about him?"

She pointed at Zarbon. Frieza shrugged.

"Do what you like," he said indifferently, "Finish him off or put him in the rejuvenation tank... Whatever..."

The icy tyrant walked off. Deirdre frowned. She didn't approve of his attitude towards his subordinates. And then there was Zarbon. Defeated and weakened by the severe bleeding from the wound on his chest, the life of the green-haired fighter was slowly fading away.

Deirdre approached him. Still conscious Zarbon lifted his eyes.

"Kill me," he wheezed, "The pain is more than I can bare... I won't live long enough for the rejuvenation tank treatment... You have a good arm..."

He coughed out some blood. Deirdre looked at him, then placed both of her hands on her chest and strained her muscles, gathering energy.

"... Just end it with one blow..." Zarbon spoke again, "I know it's too late now, but I regret what I've done... You're not like other women I knew... and for what it's worth, I'm sorry..."

Deirdre rose one of her brows, yet continued to gather the energy.

"You learn on your mistakes," she said.

A purple glowing sphere formed inside her cupped hands. Zarbon watched her, having accepted his fate. She then made a sharp motion with her hands, throwing the energy ball into Zarbon's chest. The glowing ball sank into him. But instead of sharp pain, Zarbon felt power surging though his body. His wounds instantly healed. Amazed beyond words, he stared at Deirdre.

"This technique is called Eos Star," she said impassively, "It instantly restores one's power level and heals any wounds. Another handy trick Frieza's mother taught me."

She turned and headed away. Zarbon jumped on his feet.

"Wait!" he called to her, "Why did you do it? Why didn't you kill me after... what I tried to do to you?"

Deirdre half-turned her head.

"You learned from your mistake," she repeated.

"And what if I didn't say I was sorry? Would you have killed me then?"

"No," she shook her head, "It doesn't matter whether you have said it or not... you thought it, and it's the sincere thought that counts... Have a good night, Zarbon..."

The Saiyan woman disappeared in the darkness of the corridor, leaving the astonished warrior along with his thoughts. She truly was like no other woman Zarbon knew before. She was different, she was special, she had stirred a new feeling. Zarbon instantly knew what it was.

The green-haired fighter made a vow to himself.

*********************************************************************

End of Part 1

How powerful Deirdre really is? What is that test Frieza's planning to put her through? And what does Zarbon have in mind to win the heart of the beautiful Saiyan? Find out by reading Part 2!!!

**Disclaimer:All the characters are copyright of Akira Toriyama, Toei Animation, and Funimation. Deirdre, Icia and Rime are copyright of Jeisre Ice.This story is copyright of Jeisre Ice.Permission is given by the author to copy this story for personal use only, providing no changes is done to the story or this notice. Special thanks to my good friend Furozen for letting me use the Icejin language she developed.**


	2. Destined by Icion: Part 2

Planet Icion: My Fics: Destined by Icion Part 2

Destined by Icion  
By Jeisre Ice

***********************************

Part 2: And There Were Warriors...

"All hail Lord Frieza!"

A unanimous shout came from the soldiers lined up on the landing field. Each saluted. 

An impressive site: more than 3 thousand men, each loyal like a dog. Deirdre smirked as she watched from the window of the ship. Frieza stepped down on the boarding bridge. Well, hovered down, that is. He was using his little anti-gravity pod, quite an annoying device, which was just a waste of room, Deirdre thought. Another thing that annoyed her was Frieza's 1st form: she didn't like it, maybe because it wasn't his true look. But who was she to have a say in the matter...

Another shout thundered in the air.

"Hail Frieza!!!"

_The Emperor of Rome! Deirdre giggled to herself. The whole idea of 'working' for the tyrant was for some reason... funny. She wasn't sure why, but she was confident there was a purpose, the fate has brought her in the viper's nest to carry out a mission. What was the mission, she did not know yet._

Deirdre glanced at the lines of soldiers. Frieza told her to remain inside the ship until he makes all necessary preparations for the 'test'. He didn't say what the test was going to be, but she already knew. Somehow she got a glimpse of his thoughts, she wasn't sure how, but she knew she could do it again if she needed.

Her test was right before her eyes. Five men, standing separately from the rest of the soldiers. Their appearance was weird, maybe even comical, but behind this deceitfully goofy facade the greatest power of Frieza's army was hidden. These five men were the elite fighters of the Universe, The Ginyu Force. And her test was to fight them, one by one, until one of them defeated her... or she defeated all of them.

Deirdre sighed. This wasn't really necessary, but Frieza obviously wasn't going to believe her, until he sees the true extent of her power himself. Well, if it's a show he wants, a show he will get! Deirdre smirked again. She's done her homework: she has thoroughly studied all the available data in the ship's main computer, anything that had a "Ginyu Force" tag name on it. She studied her opponents in detail: style, techniques, strengths, weaknesses... especially the weaknesses. She knew where she stood.

A cheer sounded from the outside. Deirdre listened.

"... And so my intent is to test my new recruit," Frieza was finishing his speech, "For this job I have chosen my strongest men, the Ginyu Force."

The five men stepped forward and saluted Frieza.

"You will stay here, gentlemen," Frieza addressed his elite fighters, "The rest of you move to the sides! I want to see a ring-size clearing... now!"

The soldiers scattered. The next moment the battle field was cleared, while the soldiers became the spectators, eager to watch the fight of the decade. Not often did they get a free entertainment of such an epic proportion. Some spectators even started to make bets.

"Good," Frieza nodded, satisfied with the size of the ring, "Now, my dear Ginyu Force, I want a one on one battle, so establish a queue, would you."

"Est... qu... what???" Captain Ginyu stared, scratching the back of his head. His vocabulary had never included such complex words.

Frieza rolled his eyes.

"Sort out who goes first! Numb-skull!" he snarled at the Captain.

"Oh... right!" Ginyu nodded and turned to his team.

What happened next made Deirdre roll on the floor with laughter. The five elite warriors began throwing their hands forward, repeating the words of a children's game,

"Rock, paper, scissors! Rock, paper, scissors!! Rock, paper, scissors!!!"

A few muted laughs came from the crowd. Zarbon, who was standing behind Frieza, chuckled, covering his mouth. Frieza maintained his imperturbable expression, but a good eye could clearly see his cheeks blushing with a light pink color. Indeed this was embarrassing!

In about a minute the Ginyu Force finished distributing turns. As usual Captain Ginyu has taken the leading role, and was intending to go first.

Frieza was about to start the test, but suddenly Zarbon leaned down and whispered something to his master. Frieza became thoughtful.

"You're right, Zarbon," he said a moment later, "It it's not going to be any fun if Ginyu just finishes the fight before it even starts... Hmm... I think I'll re-arrange your order, gentlemen. You will battle in the order from the lowest power level to the highest. That's going to give us an idea of progression."

The Ginyu Force pouted, but re-arranged their alignment according to Frieza's wish. First up was a short chubby four-eyed alien, who had a remarkable resemblance with a frog.

Guldo stepped into the ring, stretching his hands as he walked.

Frieza smirked.

"And now your opponent," he announced, "A new recruit of my elite army, Deirdre!"

That was her cue. Slowly, she walked out of the darkness of the ship's main hatch. The whole army gasped in unison. Feeling her power over the crowd, Deirdre continued down the loading bridge, giving everyone a chance to have a good look at her.

"WOWZERS!!!" a certain red-faced member of the Ginyu Force goggled at what he thought was a dream, "WHAT-A KNOCK OUT!!! Tell me I'm NOT dreaming!!! Somebody pinch me!"

A kick followed.

"Ouch! I asked f'r a PINCH!" Jeice pouted.

"Shut up, Jeice!" Ginyu hissed, "One more word out of you and I'm gonna bury you alive! Every time you see a pretty face you start to drool!"

Burter chuckled,

"Provided that the pretty face is attached to a cute butt!"

"Keep asking, and ye'll get it, Burter!!!" Jeice hissed at his teammate.

"Shut up, both of you!" Captain Ginyu growled, "The next one to open his mouth will be off the team! Any questions?!"

The two just silently shook their heads in reply, the threat had a definite effect.

Meanwhile Deirdre reached the ground and approached Frieza.

"I am ready for the test, Lord Frieza," she said. Her voice was casual, as if she asking what time it was.

"You may begin whenever you're ready," Frieza made a waving gesture with his hand, "I have decided to determine your rank in my army according to your progress in the test. The more of them you beat the higher your rank will be, understood?"

"Yes, sir," she smiled and slightly bowed. However, she did not follow the usual etiquette that all soldiers had to obey: she didn't lower on one knee. Most of those present thought that this was the end of the "insolent girl", but to everyone's dismay Frieza didn't even pay attention to this disrespect. The fact puzzled the army.

Deirdre walked to the ring. When passing Zarbon she heard a quiet whisper.

"Good luck, Deirdre."

Surprised she slightly turned her head to him.

"Thanks... Zarbon," she whispered back and proceeded inside the ring.

Guldo smirked as he watched her approach. A sight of a fragile woman made him confident that he will gain swift victory. He even decided to mock his 'joke of an opponent'.

"I don't usually battle GIRLS," he gurgled, "But for you I'll make an exception... And don't think I'll go easy on you, just cos you have boobs!"

Deirdre assumed a battle pose and returned a venomous grin.

"I don't usually punish FROGS for being rude, but for you I'll make an exception... And don't think I'll go easy on you just cos you have an appendage instead of a normal dick!"

The crowd burst out laughing at that superb "kick below the belt". Deirdre obviously had a sharp tongue. Even Frieza's lips stretched into a smile.

Guldo turned purple with rage. The comment was even more humiliating, because largely... it was true...

"You're gonna SO pay for this!!!" he glared at Deirdre.

She only smirked in reply.

"You may begin," Frieza's voice sounded, "Whoever remains standing is the winner."

"And that's gonna be me!" Guldo growled, "I'll know your every move before you even make it, because I can... WHAT THE HECK?!?!"

Guldo froze, startled. He intended to read Deirdre's mind, but... failed. His attempts to glance at her thoughts ran into an unbreakable wall.

"WHAT THE HELL?!?!" the frog-like alien cussed again, "That's a mind barrier! How..."

Deirdre stared Guldo in the eyes, paralyzing him.

"Game over, frogy!" she grinned evilly and faded.

Before Guldo could assess the situation, she reappeared behind his back and elbowed him on the neck. Guldo rolled, like a beach ball rolls over the sand dunes, and remained laying, face down, not moving.

A simultaneous gasp came from the audience. No one expected the battle to end even before it actually begun. Only Frieza and Zarbon weren't surprised.

"Just as I expected," the tyrant nodded to his henchman, "His power level wasn't a challenge for her. Although I hoped that his time manipulation would slow her down a bit, but it seems that our little Saiyan has done her homework. Using the element of surprise together with speed... Smart, move, don't you think so, Zarbon?"

"Indeed, sir."

"Finish him off and proceed," Frieza called to Deirdre.

To everyone's dismay Deirdre dared to argue,

"Killing him would be a waste. Why do you want to waste valuable fighters for no good reason? I may replace one of them, but what if I put down the whole team?"

That comment caused a new burst of laughter from the crowd and the remaining Ginyu Force. Even the thought of a puny Saiyan defeating all the elite fighters was ridiculous! But Frieza frowned at Deidre's words.

"That's a valid point," he agreed, "Somebody get him out of the ring. While you proceed with your next fight."

Recoome entered up to the ring. Immediately the soldiers commenced into furious ordeal of making bets. Most of the bets were made on Recoome, of course. However, there were a couple of brave-hearts who dared to bet on Deirdre. One was a short man with his black hair rising up like a flame. Astonished, he watched Deirdre, recognizing the blood of his race.

"Nice move you did there on Guldo!" Recoome gave Deirdre an ugly smile, "But it's not gonna work on me! He-he-he! I won't be so careless. Now, it's time to show you what the Ginyu Force is really made of! I'M RECOOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The bulky android proceeded with the usual Ginyu Force protocol: he performed a series of movements, that applied more to a bird courtship dancing, than a pre-battle stretch.

Deirdre tried to maintain a serious expression, but couldn't help chuckling.

"Are you actually here to fight or to give me a ballet lesson?" she inquired.

Recoome froze, speechless from such an insult. The rest of the Ginyu Force reacted the same way. Captain Ginyu was first to recover.

"WHAT?!?! SHE DARES LAUGH AT OUR STYLE?!?! WHY I'M GONNA..."

"Settle down, Captain," Frieza's voice stopped Ginyu, who was about to plunge at Deirdre, "You'll have your turn..."

"But..."

"I SAID: settle down!"

Ginyu was forced to obey. Defying Frieza was harmful for one's health.

Meanwhile in the ring, Recoome continued to blankly stare at Deirdre.

"Well, are you gonna fight, or do you wanna give up right now?" the Saiyan finally asked, getting irritated by the long wait.

"WHAT?!" Recoome snapped out of his surprise, "You'll regret those words, when I pound you so hard it's gonna make your ancestors dizzy!!!"

Without further ado, Recoome plunged at Deirdre. His fist ripped through the air and... met an empty spot. Deirdre faded and reappeared behind Recoome.

"Behind you," she casually informed the astounded android.

He growled and sent another punch her way. Again the punch didn't find its target.

"Now above you," Deirdre's voice cleared Recoome on where she had moved to.

Getting annoyed (lightly put), Recoome roared and started punching and kicking in all directions, hoping that at least one of the hits will land on Deirdre. Yet she dodge every one of them.

"Right, left, back, above, front, left... Good!" she mocked the bulky Ginyu Force.

In about a minute of this game of cat and mouse (Deirdre being a cat and toying with Recoome), she faded and reappeared at some distance, as if inviting an energy attack. Recoome immediately accepted the "offer".

"RECOOME BREATH BLAST!!!"

A huge force of the energy shook the air around. The blast was heading straight to Deirdre. She let it at the distance of the extended arm and then leaned forward and blew, as if she was blowing out candles on a cake. The blast made a sharp curve and disappeared in the sky. A gasp of astonishment followed. Deirdre used Recoome's momentarily confusion and faded again. The next moment she was standing a foot away from him.

"And now right under your nose!" she said and delivered a hard kick right into Recoome's abdomen. The elite fighter gasped for air, his eyes popped out. He groaned and collapsed at Deirdre's feet.

"Strong, but slow, and bad on defense," Deirdre addressed Captain Ginyu, "Perhaps, you should get your men to do some serious training, instead of abstract dancing."

"WHY YOU LITTLE!!!" Captain Ginyu roared. If something could get him ticked, it was making fun of (or, god forbid, criticizing) his beloved style. The insult was beyond humiliation. But the crushing blow followed, when Frieza smirked and too addressed the Captain,

"She's right about that one, Ginyu. I suggest you follow the advice."

Deirdre gestured her hand as if she was sweeping bread crumbs off the table. Immediately Recoome was flung out of the ring by the power of the force sweep she has created.

"Next, please," Deirdre spoke with a bored expression on her face.

A momentarily silence hang in the air. The soldiers gazed at the Saiyan woman in awe and quietly whispered something to each other. The remaining members of the elite fighting team simply stared at what they thought was their nightmare. Jeice was first to break the silence,

"Man oh man, just look at that! From what I see, she didn't even break a sweat! Now that's one tough chick!!!"

"Maybe so, but she's a Saiyan and Saiyans don't go beyond fifty thousand," Captain Ginyu commented, "She must be very close to that, otherwise she wouldn't have defeated both Recoome and Guldo. And it wasn't for them dropping their guard, one of them could have made a mistake, but both... I don't think so. The scouters are unreliable, she can conceal some of her power, like I can. But I can also feel that it's a very small amount of power that she's now concealing."

"Well, in that case, she about to get her bubble burst!" Burter stepped forward, "And this time not only she's going to break a sweat, but I'll make sure she breaks a leg or two!"

Burter stepped into the ring, chuckling evilly.

"Well, Zarbon, the best part of the show is about to begin!" Frieza rubbed his hands.

His henchman didn't answer. His undivided attention was glued to the ring. Meanwhile the crowd made bets and this time the number of Deirdre's "fans" has grown to about 30% of the population.

"You're about to regret your arrogance, you little pest!" Burter hissed as he towered over Deirdre.

She smirked in reply.

"Funny, your two unfortunate team mates said the same thing. I wonder why they weren't able to fulfill their threats?"

"Because they talked too much!" the blue giant bared his teeth.

"Well, you seem to be making the same mistake, my fishy friend!" she parried.

"You are SO dead!!!"

Burter skipped the traditional posing protocol and launched straight into action. He was already pissed off with both the swift defeat of his teammates and Deirdre's arrogance, so he decided to use his super speed to ensure a quick victory.

Deirdre cautiously watched Burter's manoeuvres, as he circled around her at his top speed, trying to catch her off guard and deliver a blow. The Saiyan was ready for this. Actually she was sure he was going to use this particular strategy. Well, she had come up with her own little move to counter this. Just as Burter was about to hit her, she used a fast dodge. Of course, fading and reappearing was hardly the best strategy to win the battle, but it proved effective against Burter's super speed. Even at his fastest Burter couldn't best the fast dodge. After a few unsuccessful attempts to land a blow on Deirdre, Burter realized his weakness.

"You can't keep dodging forever, Saiyan!" he hissed, "Go ahead and wear yourself down, and that's when I'll get you!"

Deirdre faded again and reappeared right above Burter.

"You're right," she nodded casually, "This is wasting my time and energy. What do you say we finish this now?"

Before Burter could respond, she thrust her left hand forward, sending a small sparkling energy orb into the ground near him.As soon as the orb touched the ground it run around Burter, surrounding him with a circle.Then the orb shot up directly above him, guided by Deirdre's hand.And finally, Deirdre made a sharp throwing motion releasing the orb, which rained energy down around the circle, creating a bubble-like dome and entrapping Burter within itself.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!?!" the blue giant cussed. Furious at his own carelessness, he shot a ki-blast into the wall of purple energy. The ki-blast hit the force field and... dissolved into it. The dome didn't even shake.

"WHAT???" Burter screeched again, launching another attack at the wall that imprisoned him. Just like the last time the blast was absorbed. Enraged, Burter completely lost control over himself, plunging at the wall, punching and kicking it.

Deirdre levitated just above the bubble-dome.

"It's useless," she addressed Burter, "Once you're inside the Purple Dome, there's no way out, unless I cancel it. You're as good as defeated, so why not give up right now, and save both you and me the unpleasant procedure of striking you down."

In reply Burter roared like a wild beast caught in a trap.

"Give up?!?! Ginyu Force never gives up!!!!! And it's you, who's gonna be struck down!!!"

Deirdre shrugged.

"Oh, well... Don't tell me I didn't try..."

She descended, arms crossed. As her feet touched the ground, she slowly lifted her right hand with the palm facing upwards. Her index and middle fingers were extended towards Burter. She gave him another glance and then sharply raised the two fingers upwards. The ground underneath Burter exploded. Deirdre used an old Saiyan technique that was appropriately called Ground Blast. However, the original Ground Blast demolished the area for more than a mile around. Deirdre seemed to have mastered the technique and learned to direct its impact at the desired radius.

When smoke cleared the Purple Dome was gone and Burter lay motionless on the wracked ground.

Silence followed. Even Frieza thought that Burter's super speed would bring on Deirdre's defeat. They all watched, unable to believe. It was only now that the true nature of this deceitfully fragile woman became clear to them. Beautiful, but deadly. Actually, Deirdre wasn't THAT beautiful, she was rather a 7 on 1 to 10 beauty scale, but there was something beyond the looks that added to her charm. Something about the way she conducted herself, how she moved, how she spoke. That gave her power over the crowd.

With a swift move of her hand, Deirdre swept Burter off the ring, just like she previously swept Recoome.

Another moment of silence... Suddenly a loud voice called from the crowd,

"BRAVO!!!"

That triggered the explosion. The army drowned in ovation, cheers and whistles. Deirdre suddenly turned from a new Saiyan recruit into the army's hero (mostly because she was beating the crap out of the so-hated Ginyu Force).

The only two who weren't applauding were Jeice and Captain Ginyu. They were actually going through individual moral dilemmas: Captain Ginyu was enraged at the fact that a Saiyan rat beat half of his team without even trying, and Jeice was petrified at the fact that it was his turn to experience the power of the mysterious woman. Astounded, they both stared at the lonely figure standing in the ring.

Frieza looked at the remains of his elite team. The sight of their utter surprise brought a smirk to his face.

"Well, whatdda you know..." he said and lightly applauded. Encouraged by the positive reaction of his master, Zarbon too let out a cheer,

"Go, Deirdre!!!" he called, "Way to kick butt!!!"

"Zarbon, if my memory doesn't deceive me, she, (how did you say?) 'kicked your own butt' not so long ago?" Frieza inquired, rather amused.

Zarbon slightly bowed his head,

"Indeed so, sir. And that way I got more closely acquainted with her."

Frieza couldn't help chuckling at that.

"The best way to get to know a girl is to ask her out on a duel, is that it, Zarbon?"

The henchman nodded, smirking.

"Well, in that case, you're about to get some competition," Frieza nodded towards the ring, "Her next challenger is quite a ladies' man."

Zarbon jerked his gaze to the base of the ring. Captain Ginyu was giving the last instructions to his last 'conscious' subordinate. Zarbon couldn't make out the words, but instead he was shifting his gaze from Deirdre to Jeice. Back and forth, back and forth... Then he groaned as if in pain.

"What's wrong, Zarbon?" Frieza asked without any emotion in his voice, "Stomach pains?"

Zarbon groaned again, and replied,

"No, sir. Conflicting emotions."

Frieza ignored that, mostly because he wasn't sure what Zarbon meant. But neither did he want ask for clarifications, somehow he knew he won't like it.

Meanwhile Captain Ginyu has finished his 'strategy lecture'.

"Got that, Jeice?"

His subordinate gave him an empty look.

"Sir, this is absolute madness!" he spoke, stumbling on every word, "She caught Burter like a mouse in a mousetrap! And she not one bit tired!!! Her power level must be over a 100 thousand!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Jeice!" Ginyu thundered, "She's a mere Saiyan! Saiyans don't have power levels more than 50 thousand! Burter was just careless. Now go up there and show that arrogant rat what the Ginyu Force are really made of!"

"But..."

The next moment Jeice saw Ginyu's clenched fist an inch away from his nose. The red-faced mercenary nervously swallowed and considered his options. It didn't take him long to decide that a Saiyan woman in the ring was far less dangerous than the enraged Captain. Jeice vividly imagined the beating he'd get if he refused to obey the order. He didn't like the thought one bit.

Jeice rolled his eyes and faced the ring. Deirdre was standing in the middle of it, like a statue. Only the wind slightly moved her long black tresses. Her face didn't express anything: no hatred, no compassion, only cold indifference.

_I've seen that expression somewhere before, Jeice thought, slowly approaching her,__ But where?_

_ He took another good look at her face. She was beautiful, at least in his opinion. But it was not the conventional type of beauty, there was something past the looks, and Jeice felt it. She had a mystery surrounding her, and there's nothing in a woman that attracts man more than a little mystery. Honey to the bee. Jeice felt like a mouse looking at a piece of cheese in a mousetrap. She draw him and scared him at the same time, he wanted her and was panickly afraid of her. When he met her gaze it made him sweat and shiver at the same time. Hot and cold. Fire and ice._

The mercenary swallowed hard and stepped into the ring.

"Well, are we ready yet?" her voice made him shudder.

"Almost," he replied. His mouth was dry. Knowing not why he was doing it, Jeice lowered on one knee and took a handful of concrete dust that covered the ring. Slowly he rubbed his fingers together, rolling the dust around his palm. Then he sniffed it. (Author's note: Jeice isn't crazy, he's just approaching the battle "Gladiator's" style!)

"A real warrior for a change," Deirdre commented his actions, "Perhaps, you won't be such a disappointment as your friends were."

He raised, yet avoided looking her in the eyes,

"Now ye're the one who talks too much," he said.

She smirked at him,

"You're smart mouthed, and cautious, I like that."

He didn't answer, but his eyes widened in surprise. He allowed himself to meet her gaze. For a moment they silently looked at each other.

Then Deirdre smirked again,

"Well, since you're not going to make the first move, allow me to do the honors!"

She plunged at him. Their hands mingled in a chaotic shower of punches. Then they caught each other's hands and pushed forward, trying to overpower each other. They both seemed be equal in power. None of the opponents moved from the spot, and only the strain of their mussels revealed how much power was involved in this game.

In about a minute of this motionless fight, both their faces were covered with a thin net of sweat drops. Their gazes peered into one another. The strain was enormous. Their wills were engaged in a mortal combat. And her will proved to be stronger, Jeice lowered his eyes.

Suddenly Deirdre's lips moved,

"Follow me!" she whispered and sharply flew up.

Unsure why he was doing it, Jeice followed her. She came with a punch from the left, allowing him to catch her hand.

"Repeat the routine for the Hurricane attack," she whispered again, "That way they won't be able to see or hear us."

As if it was the order coming from Frieza himself, Jeice obeyed.

_Why am I doing this? Why am I listening to her?! he questioned himself, engaging into a sight-blurring speed. They flew in circles, creating a red-black whirlpool. Now those below could only see the shining energy disk. Only the opponents could see each other._

"Why?" Jeice asked simply.

"I felt your thoughts: you know that you can't win, but you won't admit it out loud because Ginyu will "bust your brains out' for that. Still you don't want to hight the battle which you can't win."

Jeice dropped his jaw.

"How... did... ye...??? How's that possible?!" he mumbled.

"I respect you for recognizing your limits," Deirdre continued, "At least you're not trying to fool yourself like the rest of your comrades. A real warrior knows when to quit."

Jeice mentally kicked himself to resist her "tricks".

"Hope ya don't think that just because ya read my mind and made that little speech, I'll be a 'good boy' and fall to yer feet admitting my defeat?!" he challenged.

"No, but you'drather not engage into this fight, if given a chance. You only stepped into the ring because Captain Ginyu ordered you to."

Jeice tossed his hair.

"What's yer point exactly?"

"My point is: you know you can't win and you want to quit! I can arrange that without you having to undergo pain and beating."

That statement almost made Jeice freeze in the mid air. But he remembered just in time that if he is seen "having a friendly conversation with the opponent", he's sure to undergo some SERIOUS pain and beating.

Deirdre smirked and nodded, obviously having read his thoughts again. However it didn't take Jeice long to make his decision.

"Oh, alright!" he said, faking unwillingness, "I'll do it just to save ye some power, ya'll need it f'r the fight with the Capt'n. But f'r this, ya owe me big time! I bet I even know why ye're doing this..."

Deirdre's eyes suddenly sparkled with icy coldness.

"Think THAT again, and I'm proceeding with the initial plan of pounding you into the ground!" her stare made Jeice's blood freeze, "I always give my opponents a chance, and that applies to all, freaks or good-lookers."

Jeice gave a charming smile,

"But ye do find me... to yer likes?"

Deirdre smirked in reply,

"Get a haircut, use sun lotion, and improve that nasty attitude of yours... But that is totally irrelevant to the situation. I'm waiting: yes or no?"

_Fiery! I like that!!! Jeice thought to himself, but then hastily chased the thought away, being afraid that she'll read his mind again._

"What's the plan?" he nodded.

"Just pretend to be in A LOT of pain, I'll do the rest."

The next moment Jeice felt that he was being swept away by a strong rush of energy. The numbers flickered on his scouter display, making him gasp in utter horror. The next moment the scouter exploded, unable to cope with the intensity of the power. Jeice felt a tiny stream of blood coming down his forehead.

_A scratch. Good, now I'll have blood stains to present a convincing case, the mercenary thought, flying out of the Hurricane whirlpool._

As if appearing out of thin air, Deirdre's fist slammed into his chest. The armor cracked, but surprisingly Jeice didn't feel anything, as if he wasn't hit at all.

"Scream, you idiot!" she hissed, before pushing him away.

"Oh, right... EEEEEYYYYAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

He took a short glance at Ginyu's and Frieza's faces.

_Good, they're buying it! Jeice confirmed to himself, and increased his screaming volume._

_Oh, I should probably hold the 'wound' too._

_ That made his 'predicament' even more believable. The crowd began to roar with excitement._

Deirdre delivered another 'blow'.

"OWW!!!"

"Oww? You idiot! Can't you think of anything better???"

"Oh, ok... YOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWW!!!"

"Oh, brother!!!"

Deirdre sent a few more 'punches' at Jeice and then whispered.

"I'm launching an energy attack, once it passes, fall down. You can 'remain conscious', but you're unable to continue the battle... Got that?"

"Yep."

Jeice was flung upwards. As he was flying up, he felt the hot breath of an energy blast approaching him. He glanced down and saw an enormous beam flying at him.

_Sweet Mother of Galaxy!!! Please don't tell me that thing is for REAL!!!_

The blast swallowed him. It didn't hurt, but he felt a weird twitching all over his body. When the blinding light disappeared, Jeice began his free fall, according to Deirdre's instructions. He noticed one of his loose tresses move over his eyes. It was pitch black.

"SHIT!!! SHE CHARRED ME!!!" Jeice cussed out loud right before he hit the ground. His first impulse was to jump up and "punish the wretch" for doing that to the object of his obsession (the hair, people, the hair!). But then he realized that if he blows his cover, Captain Ginyu will permanently remove his hair, and a couple of limbs too. __

_ Oh, hell with it! he thought and remained laying still._

Deirdre landed nearby. She was breathing heavily. This pretend fight has actually taken much more of her energy than she spent on defeating the previous three men. Besides having to watch her own power level, she had to control Jeice's energy too, so that the scouters in the area couldn't pick up the deceit. Again she checked that Jeice's power level was 'down', and swept him off the floor of the ring right at Captain Ginyu's feet.

Jeice made the most sour grimace he could and moaned,

"She drained me, sir..."

"I can see that, you disgrace and just for that I outta finish you off!" Ginyu snarled, but he had more pressing matters requiring his attention, "This is just not possible! A Saiyan, a WOMAN, defeated my elite team! Four of the most elite fighters in the Universe?! That's it! That's all I can stand. She's gonna pay dearly for this humiliation!"

_Kami forbid... Jeice thought, watching his enraged commander walking into the ring._

Deirdre watched Ginyu approach. She quietly groaned to herself. This one will surely fight to the end. He was fresh and ready to go, and she was tired and partly drained. No way she had a chance now...

Deirdre raised her right hand, calling for attention.

"Lord Frieza, I would like to announce my formal surrender. I have done all that I could. This battle I can't fight."

The soldiers gasped. NO ONE in Frieza's army has voluntarily admitted his defeat before. Deirdre has done the unthinkable.

"Oh no, you don't, you little Saiyan bitch!" Captain Ginyu growled quietly, "You're gonna fight and you're gonna loose!"

"Your highness," Ginyu then addressed Frieza, "This is just a training battle. Besides the highest reading I got on her was 90,000, I haven't met such an outstanding fighter for a long time. This is the first time in years I can expect a good fight..."

"Silence!" Frieza spoke, and every sound within a mile died obeying the order of the tyrant, "There is only one way this test ends: when only one of the opponents remains standing. I think that's clear enough."

"Crystal!" Ginyu grinned evilly.

"However," Frieza continued, "Taking into account that Deirdre had already fought four opponents, she may take a short rest. The battle will resume in five minutes."

"Oh, shit!" Captain Ginyu swore. But he didn't dare argue. He decided to use the time to stretch before the fight.

Deirdre stepped out of the ring and sank down in the shade of some sort of construction.

"Thanks for nothing, Frieza!" she mumbled to herself.

The whole idea of fighting, having already declared that you can't win, seemed ridiculous. What part of the word "surrender" didn't they understand? It's not shameful to admit that you have a weakness, it's shameful to fool yourself that you don't. Anyhow, Deirdre's main problem right now was to figure out how to restore her power in short five minutes. She sighed and closed her eyes.

"Deirdre, you ok?" a voice sounded over her, "I brought you some water."

It was Zarbon. Deirdre took the extended glass. Zarbon took that as a sign of her being in a good mood and immediately sat down by her.

"Persistent, aren't you?" she spoke after she had a good long drink, "But I must say your new approach is less disturbing."

He faked a laugh,

"If at first you don't succeed, try a different way of solving the problem. At least this time you won't have a reason to slam me into a wall."

"I don't have the power to do it either," Deirdre cast a glance at Ginyu, "He's gonna so clean my clock! And I only have about half of my power left."

"Anything I can do?" Zarbon sounded truly concerned.

Deirdre smirked.

"Yeah, order me a golden coffin, would ya? And arrange a mummification, please..."

Zarbon took her hand in his.

"I'll talk to Frieza. I'll find a way to convince him..."

"Wait..." Deirdre suddenly said, looking at his hand, "Wait. No need to talk to Frieza. If you really wanna help, give me some of your power."

Zarbon started.

"What?! But... I... I don't know how..."

"I'll do everything myself, I just need your consent."

Zarbon extended his other hand.

"Take as much as you need."

Deirdre turned the palms of his hands upwards and placed her hands over his. Almost immediately Zarbon felt his ki being drawn out. It felt like a he was a drink in a glass and someone was slowly sipping him through a straw.

"Where did you learn to do this?" he asked.

"Ever heard of energy vampires? They were quite a large race, before Frieza's Father destroyed their solar system. Icia had one of them serving her. He taught me a few handy tricks, including this one."

Zarbon hesitated,

"Was he... a close friend?"

She just laughed.

"Truly, your persistence is admirable!"

Zarbon was about to say something else, but another voice beat him to it,

"So this is where ye've disappeared to, I just thought I... HEY!!! What the heck are *YE* doing here?!?!"

It was Jeice. He figured that playing 'drained' was no real use anymore, no one was paying attention to him anyway. So he decided find Deirdre and give her a few pointers on how to battle Ginyu. Of course, the pointers were merely an excuse to start a conversation. And, of course, he planned it to be a 'private' conversation. Zarbon's presence had a similar effect on Jeice as a red rag has on the bull. His eyes became bloodshot.

Jeice could never stand Zarbon. Partly because the green-haired fighter was the only person in the army who could compete with Jeice in the matter of looks, manners and love affairs. But the main reason for the hatred was a little offer Zarbon has made Jeice a few years ago, and if it wasn't for Frieza showing up then, Jeice would have murdered Zarbon on the spot. After that incident Jeice avoided Frieza's right-hand henchman at all costs. His presence alone was enough to drive Jeice furious. They competed in everything, just to annoy each other. And a new opportunity for a competition just arose.

"I said: What the heck are *ye* doing here?!?!" the mercenary growled, slowly advancing forward.

Zarbon flinched. He knew the full extent of Jeice's wrath.

"Oh, Jeice, it's you," Deirdre's voice sounded casual, "Feeling better, I see. Sorry I had to char you up like that. No hard feelings, right?"

That attitude was totally unarming. Jeice suddenly lost all his eagerness to fight. He even caught himself thinking that he didn't mind Zarbon being here.

_I must have hit my head or something! Jeice said to himself._

Meanwhile Deirdre finished drawing energy from Zarbon.

"But... I still have plenty left!" Zarbon protested when she draw her hands back.

"If I take too much, you might faint," Deirdre said, couldn't help grinning at the thought of Zarbon fainting, "I've already drained you reasonably well, try to get up and you'll see what I mean."

Zarbon followed the advice and realized that she was right. He did feel a bit dizzy and weak.

"Stay in the shade, ya'll be fine in 'bout ten minutes," Jeice suddenly spoke.

Surprised, both Deirdre and Zarbon looked at him. The mercenary was holding a small energy sphere in his cupped hands.

"This should be enough to get ya fully charged," Jeice said extending the energy to Deirdre.

Her eyes widened in surprise, but she excepted it.

"How did you know how to do this?" she asked, absorbing the glowing ball.

Jeice flashed his pearly whites.

"My dad was an energy vampire."

That made Zarbon flinch. Jeice noticed his movement and grinned.

_Mental note to self: get a pair of fake fangs to scare the hell out of this bastard!_

_ "Time's up. Resume the battle!" Frieza's voice suddenly announced._

Deirdre got up on her feet.

"Wish me luck, guys. From the looks of it, I'm gonna need it!"

She slowly stepped back into the ring.

Jeice and Zarbon watched her.

"I dun care if she's ten times stronger than me," Jeice said determinantly, "She'sgonna be mine!"

Zarbon gave him a venomous glare.

"Oh, puh-lease! The last person she's gonna pick is a rude ruffian like you!"

"What makes ya think that she'll prefer an effeminate clod like ye?!" Jeice parried.

"Look who's talking, Mr. Rapunzel!!!"

"Ya better watch yer mouth, Mr. Frog-Prince!!!"

"Shut up you royal kiss-up!!!"

"Well, at least I'm not a royal MATRESS like SOMEONE!!!"

Zarbon choked. Jeice was hitting below the belt, at the most painful spot, and he perfectly realized it.

"What's wrong? Ya didn't tell her that ye're a... oh, how should I put it... A FAG?!?!"

Zarbon growled like a grizzly bear who's been poked with a stick.

"For the last time, I'm not GAY! I'm a bisexual!!!"

"Right, and yer skin isn't blue, it's aqua... Of course, how rude of me to f'rget that! That makes SO MUCH difference! I'm sure Deirdre would be thrilled to hear the whole story..."

Zarbon shot a murderous glare at Jeice.

"3 o'clock today behind the landing field!" he filtered between clenched teeth, "I'll kill you there!"

"Wouldn't miss it f'r my life!!!" Jeice returned the hateful look, "And it's ye who'll end up a lifeless corpse!"

A contemptful sniff ended their verbal duel. They turned to the ring, totally ignoring the very fact of each other's existence.

Meanwhile the opponents in the ring assumed their positions. The crowd was making the final bets: the whole area turned into one huge gambling house. This time the bets were 50/50: half of the soldiers insisted that the Saiyan newcomer was only inferior to Frieza, while the other half argued that even if so, Captain Ginyu could still beat the crap out of any opponent, because of a certain ability.

"Begin!" Freiza snarled, growing impatient.

Ginyu grinned.

"Just before we do," he addressed Deirdre, "I don't think we've been formally introduced. And I'm a polite man, so allow me to..."

Deirdre interrupted him, rolling her eyes,

"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill."

She then copied Ginyu's personal pose, standing on one foot and lifting her hands in a weird fist-lock. She even made a dumb face expression to give the pose more likeness.

"*The leader of the Ginyu Force, Captain Ginyu! Super Fighting Pose!*" Deirdre announced with the proper diligence, and then broke the pose, "Is that what you were going to say?"

A moment of silence, and the whole army busts in hysterical laughter. Even Frieza chuckled, holding his index finger at his nose. Only Captain Ginyu blankly stared atDeirdre.

"Astonishing!" he finally said, "Correct down to the finger positioning! You have a talent, woman, and a good potential..."

"Potential for what? Joining your cheerleading squad?" Deirdre smirked, "I'd rather not have a job at all!"

"That I can arrange!!!" Ginyu growled and plunged at Deirdre.

She dodged the blow, and accordingly sent one his way. Ginyu dodged as accurately as she did. They clashed, exchanging kicks and punches, yet successfully blocking and dodging the hits. Deirdre was fighting at full power now, but she felt that so was Captain Ginyu.

"You're too fast for a Saiyan!" Captain Ginyu said, between the blows.

"No, I'm too fast for you!" she smirked, ducking and kicking up.

Ginyu caught her foot.

"Gotcha!"

"Not quite!" she jumped up and smashed her other foot in his face. Ginyu howled and flinched back, letting go of Deirdre's foot. The next moment he recovered enough to throw a hard punch at her. Deirdre was barely able to move aside, still Ginyu's fist stroke against her shoulder. Although it was a brushing blow, Deirdre felt a sharp pain. Horrified she thought what the impact would have been if the hit was direct.

Captain Ginyu plunged at her again, this time attempting to pin her down with his famous Elbow Strike. Deirdre knew that this was a multiple attack, which came in periodical strikes. She pushed her power to the limit and whirled in a series of cartwheels, accordingly avoiding the strikes. When she reached the end of the ring, she turned and extended her left hand, holding it at the elbow with her right hand. A purple beam shot from her open palm.

"YIKES!" was Ginyu's only response before the beam slammed into him.

"Hmm... Short Fire Arrow..." Frieza mused to himself, observing the fight with obvious interest, "Yet another one of my favorite attacks... Looks like mom gave her the same lessons she used to give me..."

The smoke cleared. Captain Ginyu was standing on the demolished floor of the ring. Some of his armor and uniform was missing, and his body smoked somewhat. Ginyu sharply wiped the blood off his mouth.

"My turn!" he bared his teeth and raised his right hand over his head. A small glowing ball appeared in his open palm. He then thrust his hand forward, lowering it at the level of his face. The energy ball grew, turning into a dancing flame.

_Oh, shoot!!! Directo Blast! Deirdre recognised the attack, __It's no use dodging this one, it will follow me anywhere. I'll have to deflect it._

_ Ginyu roared in strain and released the blast. Deirdre stood her ground._

"What is she doing?!?!" Jeice gripped his head, "Why ain't she dodging it?!?!"

"She'll be wiped out!!!" Zarbon echoed with horrified gasp.

The blast approached. Deirdre threw her hands forward, catching it at the last moment. But the pressure of the blast was too strong to throw it away. It kept pressing, supported by Captain Ginyu's push. Deirdre clenched her teeth. Pearls of sweat rolled down her face. Her entire being turned into a struggle. The power of the energy pushed her back, her feet slipped over the concrete.

"A war isn't a game for a woman to play!" Ginyu gave another venomous grin.

Deirdre only clenched her teeth. Suddenly she exerted every effort and flung the blast into the air and out of view.

"On the contrary," she breathed out, "I find this game to my likes!"

Ginyu gulped, astounded, but then regained his composure.

"So you like it, do you?" he growled, "Let's see how you like THIS!!!"

The aura around Captain Ginyu began to burn in purple flames. His left hand with an open palm was extended forward.

"YYAAARRRGGGGHHHHH!!!" he yelled as his power level surged to it's maximum.

Deirdre watched, wide eyed, still trying to catch her breath. Deflecting the previous attack took a lot out of her, and now she didn't have the power to deflect this one.

_Why aren't you stopping it?! her mind gave a desperate cry, reaching the intended recipient,__ I have nothing to fight back with... this blast will finish me off... I'll die helpless, just like Icia!_

_ The energy beam parted from Ginyu's hand. Along with it a desperate, almost insane shout parted Frieza's lips,_

"NOOOOO!!! STOP!!!"

Yet the soaring energy obeyed no one. It ripped the air with a sinister hiss and found its intended target. A mushroom cloud of smoke rose over the battle field. As it began to clear, a sight of an enormous crater revealed. Dust and ash rained on everyone.

The smoke cleared. The crater and its surroundings remained motionless. No sign of life. Not a reading on a scouter either.

Frieza powerlessly sank into the seat of his antigravity pod. A mournful groan escaped his lips,

"Oh, God!!! What have I done!!!"

While the whole army lowered their gazes, Captain Ginyu was the only person who considered the occurrence a "good thing".

A heavy silence hanged in the air of Frieza 79. Suddenly it was cut with a shout,

"MY KAMI!!! LOOK!!!"

From the depth of the crater a hand reached out and grabbed the edge of the wall. A moment later Deirdre emerged. She was severely wounded, bleeding. Her clothes were now reduced to rags. But she was alive.

Astounded by her miraculous escape, everybody froze, lost in trance most like shock. So was Captain Ginyu.

Breathing heavily, Deirdre rose her right hand over her head.

"LIGHTNING BALL!!!" she yelled as a giant ball of fire appeared over her hand.

"HEEE-YAAAAA!!!!" she launched the attack.

The next moment the energy blast collided with Captain Ginyu. He drowned in the flash of bright light, and when it passed, appeared charred from toes to horn tips. Ginyu coughed out a puff of smoke and... collapsed, his feet flying over his head.

Another moment of dead silence interrupted by Deirdre's breath of relief. She turned her face to Frieza, and made a step towards him. Then suddenly her eyes closed and she fell on the ground as lifeless as Ginyu.

Dead silence again. Then Frieza 79 is shaken with the blood-freezing shout,

"AERA-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A-A!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

And the whole army flees, leaving behind the devastated tyrant with a tear at his eye.

*********************************************************************

End of Part 2

Is this the end of Deirdre? Can Frieza bear loosing both his mother and her ward? And what about Jeice and Zarbon? All revealed in the Part 3!

**Disclaimer:All the characters are copyright of Akira Toriyama, Toei Animation, and Funimation. Deirdre, Icia and Rime are copyright of Jeisre Ice.This story is copyright of Jeisre Ice.Permission is given by the author to copy this story for personal use only, providing no changes is done to the story or this notice. Special thanks to my good friend Furozen for letting me use the Icejin language she developed.**


	3. Destined by Icion: Part 3

Planet Icion: My Fics: Destined by Icion Part 3

Destined by Icion  
By Jeisre Ice

************************************************

Part 3: Ice Melts 

She floated in the nothing, her feelings lost in the unknown. The sense of time and space did not exist at this place, a vacuum between dimensions. There were only two ways out of this place: back or forth. It seemed so easy to go forth, just reach out to the light in the end of the tunnel and you'll be in the place of blissful oblivion. Yet every time she reached towards the light someone (or something) was pushing her back.

_Who are you? What do you want with me? she pleaded at last._

_Go back! a voice said, __Your mission is not complete. Go back, Driar, go back._

_ Bitter cold surrounded her.The icy liquid stung her body, which was otherwise numb.Yet her conscientiousness slowly crawled back.Deirdre realized that she was inside a rejuvenation tank.She also realized that her condition must have been extremely poor (Author's note: the worse the condition of the patient, the lower the temperature of the healing liquid). Then she heard voices. They were distorted by the humming of the tank pumps, but still she could recognize one voice._

"Whatever it is just tell me!!!" Frieza's voice seemed to tremble.

"You see, sire..." another shaking voice, belonging to a doctor, sounded, "We... we're doing everything we can... but still... She's in a past-coma state... To say 'critical' in this situation is to say she's just got a couple of bruises... Lord Frieza, you must understand, that we've done all that is in our power to..."

Frieza abruptly interrupted him,

"Is she gonna make it?" he simply asked, feeling a lump forming in his throat.

The doctor swallowed hard before saying the words that may become his last (as usually happened to the bearers of bad news),

"Sir, in medical terms: we had verified her clinical death two hours ago."

Frieza didn't move. Not even his expression changed. He just stared.

"I'm truly sorry, Lord Frieza," the doctor said, thanking the Kamis for not having to join his patient in the netherworld.

"Leave me!" a dry order followed.

The doctor, along with all the personnel, immediately cleared the room. Frieza approached the rejuvenation tank. For a moment he looked at the motionless body, surrounded by blue liquid. Then he fell on his knees, holding his palms against the glass.

"Oh, God!!! It's all my fault! First mother, and now her! I killed them, I killed both of them!!! Ignorant, self-centered... Mother was right... I am... MAMA!!! Forgive me... I failed you!!!"

Frieza wailed. He wept. He mourned.

Then amidst the sobs and gasps, his mind suddenly became alert, as a distant voice called to him,

_Death is only the beginning, Frieza... A beginning of a new life...Sometimes what's left behind can grow into something better than it was before..._

Frieza sobbed again and blindly reached to the voice,

_What destiny hands to us is always what we should except... Now can you please get me out of this fish tank?_

_ Frieza's eyes wound open and he stared right into the rejuvenation tank. Deirdre smiled and lightly waved to him._

Shocked, astounded, not understanding what he's doing, Frieza blew up the glass of the rejuvenation tank. The liquid poured out, washing Deirdre out, right in Frieza's arms. He clung to her, like a baby clings to his mother.

Blue liquid streamed down the face of the Terror of the Galaxy, mixing with his tears of joy,

"Deirdre, chi'fae sa, little sister! I... that stupid test... I would have never... Heavens brought you back... Oh, Kamis!!! Forgive me!!!"

Her hand gently glided over his shiny carapace. It carried the soothing touch of motherly care. Only in Icia's arm Freiza felt so blissful.

And then she hummed the lullaby tune, soothing him even more. The light was shining again, it has merely taken a different form. A form of a Saiyan, a race that he hated as deeply, as passionately as he loved his mother. It was now that Frieza realized that Deirdre stirs conflicting emotions within him. Hate and love… Which one was stronger he didn't not know… What to do next he did not know either. One moment he was ready to protect Deirdre at the cost of his own life, the next moment he wanted to vaporize her on the spot. He wanted never to see her again, yet knew that he won't bear to let her out of his sight. Deirdre was his inheritance from his mother, even to some point an extension of Icia. And for that reason Frieza knew that "the girl stays". The conflicting emotions can be sorted out later.

She smiled again. Frieza attempted to do so as well.

"And from now on you're wearing the armor!" he said, his voice carried the notes of fatherly edification, "Like it or not, that's an order!"

"Yes, sir!" she responded like a well-trained soldier, but rather playfully.

Frieza felt a bit awkward. Only now it occurred to him that they were still sitting on the floor, soaked to the bones, and the distance between them was in no way appropriate to that which must be between the servant and the master. Kami forbid anyone enters. His reputation will be ruined.

The Terror of the Galaxy gave a slight cough. Deirdre understood him without him saying a word. She got up and moved slightly to the side. Frieza also rose to his feet.

"I want to have a word with you," he said, "But you might want to… err… change first."

Deirdre slightly blushed, as she glanced at the poor excuse for a fishing net she was wearing. Frieza came to the rescue. He lightly pushed at his left chest-plate. A soughing sound came from the back of his armor and a long crimson cape unfolded from under the back of his shoulder plates. Frieza detached it and handed the cape to Deirdre. She took it with a grateful nod.

"Father insists I wear one," Frieza explained, "But it restricts mobility, so I've ordered a special compartment to be added on my armor, where I can keep the cape. And if Papa pays me a surprise visit I can always be prepared."

Deirdre nodded again, wrapping herself in the soft, dark-wine velvet.

"I presume there is spare clothes in your quarters…" Frieza continued, starting to feel uneasy, "If there's anything else you will require…"

"I will let you know," Deirdre finished his phrase, "Thank you… for everything."

She headed to the door.

"I expect to see you in my quarters within an hour," Frieza's voice sounded behind her back, "You have my permission to leave, Commander Deirdre."

She turned, having dropped her jaw at that. Frieza smirked.

"Like I said, the more men you beat, the higher your rank is. You've beaten all of them…"

"Even…"

"Yes, Ginyu too. He collapsed first, so, according to the rules, the victory is yours. I thought of appointing you as a new Captain of my elite warriors, but…" Frieza chuckled, "You seem to dislike the 'cheerleading' nature of the team. So I thought I gave you a less 'stylish' rank. You are now the Commander of my Star Fleet. You don't have any objections, do you?"

Deirdre smiled somewhat, but saluted, according to her new rank.

"No, Lord Frieza!"

It was Frieza's turn to smirk.

"Let's keep it formal in public," he simply said.

Deirdre nodded and exited.

*********************************************************************

Deirdre was almost at her room's door, when she noticed a crouching shadow in the dark corner of the corridor. Deirdre assumed a defense pose.

"Come out and state your business!" she demanded.

The shadow moved and a short man stepped into the light. He was wearing a standard soldiers' uniform. His eyes and hair were pitch black, just like hers. 

The man smirked, slightly moving his head. His black tresses seemed to sough like dry autumn leaves. Deirdre wondered how was it possible for one's hairstyle to basically 'stand up'.

She looked at the man. Another detail caught her attention. A furry belt around his waist was actually a tail. He was a Saiyan, like herself.

The Saiyan stranger kept silent.

"I presume you want to talk to me?" Deirdre spoke first.

He smirked. Something was familiar about the way he did it. Something about the facial expression, the arrogance in the gaze, in the lip curve.

"I saw you fight," he said with a deep, somewhat coarse voice, "You've managed to surpass the limits of an ordinary Saiyan. Tell me, girl, how did you do it?"

"First, you will address me by my name and rank: it's Commander Deirdre," she spoke coolly, "Secondly, you will state your own name and rank, and if by any chance it happens to be lower than my own, you will be severely punished. The army code forbids those of the lower rank to question their commanding officers."

The Saiyan smirked again.

"Very well, I WILL tell you my name. I am Vegeta, the Prince of Planet Vegeta andall Saiyans. I think that makes ME the 'commanding officer'!"

"Prince of the planet that no longer exists, and people who are almost extinct… Not much of a position if you ask me."

Vegeta's lowered his brows.

"I'm NOT asking your stupid opinion," he snapped, "There's no time for it! Yes, our race is almost completely gone, we are the last two alive. There were two others, Nappa and Raditz, but they were killed during a planet raid. There might be another one still alive, he was sent to Earth as an infant, but we lost all contact with him as soon as he landed."

"Why are you telling me all this?" Deirdre inquired.

"Because you are one of us! Because you are, at the moment, the strongest Saiyan, and from what I've seen, more training and you'll be able to take out Frieza himself!"

"And exactly why would I want to do that?"

Vegeta growled.

"Don't you know?! It was HIM, who blew up Planet Vegeta, our home planet! It was HIM, who destroyed our people! Where is your Saiyan pride?!"

Deirdre shrugged.

"I was taken from Planet Vegeta when I was too young to talk. I grew up knowing nothing about my origins. I don't know how to be a Saiyan."

"It's in your blood!!! The desire to fight, the craving for power, the passion for…"

Deirdre abruptly interrupted him.

"The flow of your blood is determined by those who raise you! I was not raised as a Saiyan, Vegeta."

The Prince shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. You are still one of us. And for that reason I make a proposal to you: join me, I have a plan to escape this prison, together we will seek all survivors of our race and then we will take down Frieza!!!"

Deirdre looked in Vegeta's eyes. They were her own, same spark, arrogance, independence, stubbornness. He was right, they were of the same blood.

"Well?" the Prince urged her.

Deirdre shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Vegeta, the answer is 'no'. I won't do it."

"Then you'll die too!!! Either Frieza will kill you personally, or, if he'll be stupid enough not to, I will return and punish you for your stupidity! Either way, you perish!"

She just smirked in reply. With the same smirk that he had on his face.

"What is the deal with you and Frieza anyway?" Vegeta snapped, angered by her refusal, "What did he give you a good fuck and you've imagined yourself a happy little Cinderella story?!?! Well, in this fairy tale Price Charming will personally roast your ass!"

"You are an angry man, Vegeta," Deirdre said, starting down the corridor, "Hate only makes one weak. Think about that…"

The Saiyan Prince clenched his fists.

"You'll pay for this, girl, mark my words! I WILL become the most powerful fighter in the Universe, I will come back and kill you and Frieza!!! You hear me?!"

Deirdre half-turned her head.

"Now that you've made this bold little speech of yours, what will stop me from raising the alarm and arresting you for insubordination and attempt of riot?"

Vegeta dropped his jaw.

"You… you… wouldn't dare!!!"

"Try me!"

The Price stepped back under the heavy gaze of the last woman of the Saiyan race.

"You… you… you'll regret this! Mark my words, Deirdre!!!"

Vegeta turned and ran in the opposite direction to which Deirdre was heading.

"The space pod module," she sniffed, "Stupid man. They can track down any pod anywhere, they're all linked into the main computer system. Doesn't he know that?"

Thoughtful, she walked. For some reason she was heading in the direction Vegeta ran to. Automatically, she was going to the space pod module. But she stopped half-way, as a door on her right caught her attention.

"The control room," Deirdre muttered to herself, "I wonder why Frieza doesn't put guards at these places. It's ridiculously easy to get in and break into their main frame. They won't even know what hit them..."

Suddenly she became thoughtful again. For a moment Deirdre weighed pros and cons, then she boldly stepped into the control room.This is where her mission starts. She knew that for sure now. Because it felt right to do this...

*********************************************************************

"I say she's just a darn monkey! End of the freaking story!!!"

Captain Ginyu threateningly glared at his subordinate. Usually one look was enough to strike Jeice in almost reverential fear. But this time... Ginyu frantically attempted to understand what happened to the 'damn coward'.

"Well that 'darn monkey' could have KILLED ya on the spot! Yet she PURPOSELY used her attacks to drain us, NOT hurt us!" Jeice reinforced his speech with a furious nod.

This was a drastic change. Fire, rebellion, passion (errr... well, passion was there before)... This was Jeice that Captain Ginyu could barely remember. Twenty years ago? Longer? At the time Captain Ginyu thought that it was just childish stubbornness. Yet it emerged again, and now of all times?

But Jeice did have a point. Strangely, the rest of the team seemed to agree with him. Even Burter, who usually took Ginyu's side.

Ginyu frowned.

"Well... she... well... I was only fighting back like I was ordered to..."

"But you weren't ordered to kill her!!! That's what she gets for trying to save you a few wounds! How low can you go?!?!" Zarbon was right there behind Jeice, and he was enraged no less than the red-faced mercenary.

Those two taking one side?! Ginyu thought he'd never see the day. He was now sweating like a grizzly bear during the mating season.

"Ye recovered in 15 minutes!" Jeice continued to press on, "And she's in a coma!"

"For all we know, she may be already dead!!!"

Zarbon realized that he went a little too far with his last comment. For some reason it even put Ginyu into depression.

A moment of silence followed.

"Hey, what's with the sour faces? Is there a funeral?" a cheerful voice made all six men jerk their gazes to the door.

"Hi, remember me?" Deirdre waved to them and smiled.

She changed her clothes, keeping to the same look she had before, the only new addition to her attire was a shiny new armor.

She kept smiling and stepped into the lounge. They were too astounded to response. Only ten minutes ago they had an official report from the doctor that her condition was critical. Shock was too light of a word to describe their feelings.

Deirdre made a puzzled grimace.

"Oh, did I catch you guys during one of those 'boys only' talks? And don't look at me like I'm going to bite you."

Zarbon was the first to recover. One jump and he was near Deirdre, squeezing her in his embrace.

"Deirdre! Thank the Kamis! You're alive!!!"

"I won't be if you squeeze me like this! I can't breathe!"

"Yeah, leggo of the lady, mate!" Jeice rudely pushed Zarbon away from Deirdre, "Hello, gorgeous, did you miss me?"

He lifted her up and twirled her around.

"You don't really miss anyone when you're inside a rejuvenation tank!" she laughed, "Oh, please stop! I'm getting dizzy!"

Jeice put her down. Deirdre turned to the rest of the Ginyu Force.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you, guys, but, hey, you wouldn't have gone easy on me, now would you?"

Her attitude was so unarming. Even Captain Ginyu, who was intending to say something rude... couldn't do it. He just... couldn't. No one has ever treated them 'nicely'. No one has every said 'sorry'. No one has ever wanted to be a friend. And this new feeling, a positive emotion for a change, warmed their souls.

"No hard feelings?" Deirdre asked with a smile.

"No-o-o..." a discord choir muttered, each unsure of what the others might think. Then the decision was unanimous.

"Nope!" they all said confidently (well, Captain Ginyu did have a few doubtful notes in his voice, but he wouldn't be Captain Ginyu if he didn't).

"Great," Deirdre nodded, "Now, since we're going to be working together, why don't we have dinner together? I'll cook!"

Surprised gazes in reply.

"You can cook???" Burter hissed, doubtfully raising his brow.

"Sure! Let's see: fried chicken, rice, sushi, fish sticks, tempura, stir-fry... and..." she glanced at the faces of the Ginyu Force, "Oh, yeah... chocolate cake! Now how does that sound?"

CHOCOLATE CAKE?!?! You gotta be kidding!!! If there was something you could buy the Ginyu Force with it was the "C" word. Drool collected at the mouths of the elite warriors.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah!!!" Captain Ginyu champed, rolling out his tongue, like a dog who was offered a bone.

"Gimme, gimme, gimme!!!" Recoome echoed his leader, smiling as if Deirdre was his #1 best friend in the entire Universe.

"It's settled then," Deirdre nodded cheerfully, "Dinner time here. Now, if you will excuse me, I have an audience with Frieza."

"I'll walk you there!" Zarbon eagerly stepped forward.

He was immediately tackled by Jeice.

"No! *I* will walk ye there!"

"Oh, no you won't! *I* will!"

"No, *I* will!!!"

"Guys, guys!" Deirdre pushed them apart by coming between them, "You can both walk with me."

This kind of resolution didn't suit either Jeice or Zarbon. Each wanted a 'tete-a-tete' kind of walk, but neither of them was going to let the other have the pleasure of Deirdre's company.

_If I can't have it, you won't either!_ their gazes shot sparks at each other.

Of course, starting personal conversations was out of the question. So they silently walked down the corridor. Occasionally Jeice and Zarbon exchanged murderous glares and made faces at each other.

They soon reached Frieza's quarters.

"You can wait for me, if you want," Deirdre addressed the two men, "I could use a hand in the kitchen after I'm finished with Frieza."

"You/ye can count on me!" both Zarbon and Jeice flashed their eyelashes.

"One more thing," she said heading to the door, "PLEASE, try not to fight while I'm gone!"

"We won't!" they said, giving the smiles of pure innocence, meanwhile secretly crossing their fingers behind their backs.

As soon as Deirdre disappeared behind the doors, the rivalry exploded.

"What'da ya trying to prove here?!" Jeice growled, "She's MINE! End of the bloody story!!!"

"Oh, yeah?! I don't recall her actually choosing you!"

"She will!"

"Wanna bet?!"

"You're on!!!"

Zarbon paused for a second. Actually, it was an idea...

"Alright, Jeice!" he said, grinning evilly, "You want a bet, you got it! The first one to get her in bed, is the winner. The looser will have to... shave himself bald!!! Now what do you say?"

Jeice hesitated. He did make bets before, but betting on a live person, gambling with feelings seemed... wrong. He didn't want to think of Deirdre as a prize...

"What's wrong? Chicken?!" Zarbon challenged.

That was an insult. Jeice's pride triumphed over other feelings,

"You're on!"

They shook on it. Now the real competition began. The toughest one yet, and the prize was worth it.

********************************************************************* 

Freiza was drumming his fingers on the glass of the dome-like window. Deirdre immediately picked up the irritation in his motions. For some reason, he was in the bad mood.

_Hmm... I wonder what could have happened during the hour to get him upset?_ she thought, approaching.

"Reporting as ordered," Deirdre said. Rather too casually, she didn't fulfill the usual protocol either: she did not kneel.

Frieza didn't move, but Deirdre heard his distinct growl.

"There was an unauthorized launch from space pod module #2 a little less than an hour ago!" Frieza finally spoke, dryly and somewhat threateningly, "It appears that a soldier named Vegeta has escaped. Tracking him down is impossible due to the failure in the main frame of the computer system, which carries unmistakable traces of sabotage... You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, now would you 'commander'?"

He turned to glare at Deirdre. Not a single muscle moved on her face. Only a slight shade of surprise.

"Vegeta... That's a Saiyan name, isn't it?" she replied with a question.

Frieza's eyes shone.

"Yes. Vegeta, the prince. He has attempted insubordination before, but never before was he able to execute his plans of desertion. He couldn't have done it without the assistance of a commanding officer..."

"Should I interpret that as an accusation, Frieza?" her voice was calm, but the tone was icy, blood-freezing. Her face remained indifferent, only her gaze has changed.

Frieza peered in her eyes, trying to drill her soul and drag the truth out of her. Like a boa paralyses a rabbit, which can't move from horror. It always worked on his subordinates, none of them were able to bear the glare of his menacing ruby eyes.

But something clicked. Like a magnet catching a piece of metal, her gaze caught his. The boa and the rabbit... only now they've changed the roles. It was Deirdre who hypnotized Frieza, depriving him of his will. It was that imperative gaze that Icia used to give him when he was young, and... when he was behaving badly. And that gaze was the only thing in the Universe that Frieza submitted to. He didn't even resist.

"No," he finally muttered, lowering his eyes, "I was... just wondering... if you knew..."

A smirk-like curve slipped over Deirdre's lips, but only for a second.

"Wouldn't have a clue," her reply was, "Besides I didn't have time to get acquainted with all of your soldiers, so I have no idea who this Vegeta is. You have many Saiyans in the army?"

Frieza growled again.

"Vegeta was the last one," he snapped.

"Then it only leaves me, of course, if you don't plan terminating me on the spot."

That was a rebuke. Frieza shivered. Those were the words that Icia used to shame him. She was physically weaker than Frieza, but her power over him was incredible. And that "terminating on the spot" remark was one the most painful in her arsenal. It seemed that she had passed it on to her ward.

"Vegeta possesses three things which I refuse to tolerate: cowardice, bad haircut and military insurrection!" Frieza hissed, trying to change the subject, "His arrogance has always gotten on my nerves! It seemed the better I treat him, the worst he rebelled!"

"Doesn't mean you should scapegoat on me."

Frieza nervously tossed his head, which meant: "Stop already! I know I've been wrong!"

Deirdre put her hand on Frieza's shoulder.

"Why do you even bother with him that much? Is he such a big loss to the army?"

Frieza soaked in the heat of the warm-blooded creature standing next to him.

"I... I guess not. No, definitely not!" he thought for a moment and added, "Forgotten."

Deirdre nodded.

"So what now, Frieza?"

His gaze was fixed on the stars, peering into the depth of the cosmos.

"We search... the whole Universe, if needed," Deirdre heard Frieza's distinct sigh, "But I will not rest till I find my mother's murderer!"

He turned to look at her, seeking support.

"I will stand by your side," she gave a slight smile, "I will do all I can to help you, chi'lae ba, big brother."

Her lips lightly touched his forehead. He seemed not to have noticed it.

"Rest now," Deirdre said, heading to the door.

"Rime..."

Deirdre's brows shot up in surprise.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Rime," Frieza repeated dreamily looking at the window, "On the outside the widow in covered with rime."

"Umm... hmm... yes, it... must be chilly outside... Goodnight, Frieza."

Deirdre exited.

The Terror of the Galaxy continued to stare, tracing the fancy pattern of the hoarfrost with his finger. The branches of the frozen water curved like lips of an icy creature... White skin, ruby eyes... The face... That face... Frieza couldn't get it out of his head.

"Rime..." he whispered, breathing on the window. A spot of glass became steamed. Frieza's finger, as of its own will, draw a unfamiliar shape...

"I will find you..." Frieza's whisper echoed under the dome-like ceiling of the room.

The stars shed ghostly light on Frieza, who lonely gazed into the night.

*********************************************************************

Darkness surrounded him. And bitter cold. The most lonely planet in the entire Galaxy. This was the place where nothing grew. Where the air, which allowed no life to exist, hanged thick... sick... dead... Silent, as if even a whisper of wind is afraid to trespass. No light ever shines here. The dark terrain is dead... And death lives here.

He has chosen this place because it suited his nature. Dark and cold... Here he could forget about everything. Yet now was different. The vision of the moment haunted him, returning again and again, replaying itself...

A deep breath. Perhaps, he should give in to the memory. Killing was his business... But it never happened like this before... This time it was more like a... murder...

Breathe. This was the day... The mission went smoothly. Their horror, panic, screams... Music to his ears. But the screams have not yet passed through him... 

Breathe. The dead don't bite... but they sure can annoy with haunting memories.

Hold. Recall the moment. Every detail. Sound. Smell... Especially the smell... Smoke, ashes, blood... The exquisite smell of fresh, mortal wound.

Hold. The expression of her face for that brief moment when the blast has pierced her heart. Glorious! The blood drops rain on the red carpet... Delicious! Her body hits the floor then the purple folds of the cape wave over her... Grand!

Hold. Remember it all. Clear, like that tear in her eye...

Good. Breathe.

Another dark figure emerged out of the shadows. Oh, how he hated the interruptions!

"What is it you want?!"

The figure moved closer.

"I'm afraid, we may have a complication."

"What?"

"It appears her ward, the Saiyan girl, survived. Frieza found her and it seems he intends to keep her."

"It's your fault, you fool! YOU were supposed to kill her!!!"

The figure shrugged.

"I WAS going to, but wasn't it YOU, who dragged me back into the ship, shouting that Frieza's about to land?!"

Silence hanged for a moment in the darkness of the hall. Then he spoke, in his usual callous manner,

"I think we can remedy the sad fact of her survival, don't you think?"

A pearly shine cut the darkness, a carnivorous grin was full of cruelty.

"Leave her to me, I'll get her, and as for that greenhorn Frieza..."

"No! Leave him out of this! The girl must die without him being around!"

The dark figure shrugged again.

"That's a complication. We'll have to lure her out, but how?"

"To catch a mouse you need cheese, boy! Find out what kind of cheese the mouse likes, and you can set the trap..."

"And until we find out that, we lie low."

"Precisely! Now leave me! I want to be alone!"

The figure began to fade into the darkness.

"Have you ever actually thought that the girl was really intended for..."

"NO! Out of the question! And if I ever hear you mentioning that rumor again..."

"I am leaving you."

He was alone again. And the phantoms of the memories smelled the fear in his soul. They came to haunt.

Breathe. Hold. Hold. Breathe. Why isn't it working? Why is that thought banging in my head?!

_If it is just a rumor, why are you so afraid that it's TRUE???_

He shuddered, he realized his fear...

It was now clear to him: the girl must die. At any cost... 

THE END

Will Frieza track down the mysterious murderers of his beloved mother? Or will they strike first when he least expects? What is Deirdre's mission? And what about the two love-struck rivals: will it be Jeice or Zarbon who wins the heart of the Saiyan beauty? Who actually murdered Icia and who is that mysterious Icejin called Rime?

Stay tuned for more stories of the Icion Saga!

**Disclaimer:All the characters are copyright of Akira Toriyama, Toei Animation, and Funimation. Deirdre, Icia and Rime are copyright of Jeisre Ice.This story is copyright of Jeisre Ice.Permission is given by the author to copy this story for personal use only, providing no changes is done to the story or this notice. Special thanks to my good friend Furozen for letting me use the Icejin language she developed.**


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